Assimilating SAR-derived water level data into a hydraulic model: a case study

Satellite-based active microwave sensors not only provide synoptic overviews of flooded areas, but also offer an effective way to estimate spatially distributed river water levels. If rapidly produced and processed, these data can be used for updating hydraulic models in near real-time. The usefulness of such approaches with real event data sets provided by currently existing sensors has yet to be demonstrated. In this case study, a Particle Filter-based assimilation scheme is used to integrate ERS-2 SAR and ENVISAT ASAR-derived water level data into a one-dimensional (1-D) hydraulic model of the Alzette River. Two variants of the Particle Filter assimilation scheme are proposed with a global and local particle weighting procedure. The first option finds the best water stage line across all cross sections, while the second option finds the best solution at individual cross sections. The variant that is to be preferred depends on the level of confidence that is attributed to the observations or to the model. The results show that the Particle Filter-based assimilation of remote sensing-derived water elevation data provides a significant reduction in the uncertainty at the analysis step. Moreover, it is shown that the periodical updating of hydraulic models through the proposed assimilation scheme leads to an improvement of model predictions over several time steps. However, the performance of the assimilation depends on the skill of the hydraulic model and the quality of the observation data

The importance of parameter resampling for soil moisture data assimilation into hydrologic models using the particle filter

The Sequential Importance Sampling with Resampling (SISR) particle filter and the SISR with parameter resampling particle filter (SISR-PR) are evaluated for their performance in soil moisture assimilation and the consequent effect on baseflow generation. With respect to the resulting soil moisture time series, both filters perform appropriately. However, the SISR filter has a negative effect on the baseflow due to inconsistency between the parameter values and the states after the assimilation. In order to overcome this inconsistency, parameter resampling is applied along with the SISR filter, to obtain consistent parameter values with the analyzed soil moisture state. Extreme parameter replication, which could lead to a particle collapse, is avoided by the perturbation of the parameters with white noise. Both the modeled soil moisture and baseflow are improved if the complementary parameter resampling is applied. The SISR filter with parameter resampling offers an efficient way to deal with biased observations. The robustness of the methodology is evaluated for 3 model parameter sets and 3 assimilation frequencies. Overall, the results in this paper indicate that the particle filter is a promising tool for hydrologic modeling purposes, but that an additional parameter resampling may be necessary to consistently update all state variables and fluxes within the model

A change detection approach to flood mapping in urban areas using TerraSAR-X

Very high-resolution Synthetic Aperture Radar sensors represent an alternative to aerial photography for delineating floods in built-up environments where flood risk is highest. However, even with currently available SAR image resolutions of 3 m and higher, signal returns from man-made structures hamper the accurate mapping of flooded areas. Enhanced image processing algorithms and a better exploitation of image archives are required to facilitate the use of microwave remote sensing data for monitoring flood dynamics in urban areas. In this study a hybrid methodology combining radiometric thresholding, region growing and change detection is introduced as an approach enabling the automated, objective and reliable flood extent extraction from very high-resolution urban SAR images. The method is based on the calibration of a statistical distribution of “open water” backscatter values inferred from SAR images of floods. SAR images acquired during dry conditions enable the identification of areas i) that are not “visible” to the sensor (i.e. regions affected by ‘layover’ and ‘shadow’) and ii) that systematically behave as specular reflectors (e.g. smooth tarmac, permanent water bodies). Change detection with respect to a pre- or post flood reference image thereby reduces over-detection of inundated areas. A case study of the July 2007 Severn River flood (UK) observed by the very high-resolution SAR sensor on board TerraSAR-X as well as airborne photography highlights advantages and limitations of the proposed method. We conclude that even though the fully automated SAR-based flood mapping technique overcomes some limitations of previous methods, further technological and methodological improvements are necessary for SAR-based flood detection in urban areas to match the flood mapping capability of high quality aerial photography

Compilation and validation of SAR and optical data products for a complete and global map of inland/ocean water tailored to the climate modeling community

Accurate maps of surface water extent are of paramount importance for water management, satellite data processing and climate modeling. Several maps of water bodies based on remote sensing data have been released during the last decade. Nonetheless, none has a truly (90°N/90°S) global coverage while being thoroughly validated. This paper describes a global, spatially-complete (void-free) and accurate mask of inland/ocean water for the 2000–2012 period, built in the framework of the European Space Agency (ESA) Climate Change Initiative (CCI). This map results from the synergistic combination of multiple individual SAR and optical water body and auxiliary datasets. A key aspect of this work is the original and rigorous stratified random sampling designed for the quality assessment of binary classifications where one class is marginally distributed. Input and consolidated products were assessed qualitatively and quantitatively against a reference validation database of 2110 samples spread throughout the globe. Using all samples, overall accuracy was always very high among all products, between 98% and 100%. The CCI global map of open water bodies provided the best water class representation (F-score of 89%) compared to its constitutive inputs. When focusing on the challenging areas for water bodies’ mapping, such as shorelines, lakes and river banks, all products yielded substantially lower accuracy figures with overall accuracies ranging between 74% and 89%. The inland water area of the CCI global map of open water bodies was estimated to be 3.17 million km2 ± 0.24 million km2. The dataset is freely available through the ESA CCI Land Cover viewer

Calibration of channel depth and friction parameters in the LISFLOOD-FP hydraulic model using medium resolution SAR data and identifiability techniques

Single satellite synthetic aperture radar (SAR) data are now regularly used to estimate hydraulic model parameters such as channel roughness, depth and water slope. However, despite channel geometry being critical to the application of hydraulic models and poorly known a priori, it is not frequently the object of calibration. This paper presents a unique method to simultaneously calibrate the bankfull channel depth and channel roughness parameters within a 2-D LISFLOOD-FP hydraulic model using an archive of moderate-resolution (150 m) ENVISAT satellite SAR-derived flood extent maps and a binary performance measure for a 30 × 50 km domain covering the confluence of the rivers Severn and Avon in the UK. The unknown channel parameters are located by a novel technique utilising the information content and dynamic identifiability analysis (DYNIA) (Wagener et al., 2003) of single and combinations of SAR flood extent maps to find the optimum satellite images for model calibration. Highest information content is found in those SAR flood maps acquired near the peak of the flood hydrograph, and improves when more images are combined. We found that model sensitivity to variation in channel depth is greater than for channel roughness and a successful calibration for depth could only be obtained when channel roughness values were confined to a plausible range. The calibrated reach-average channel depth was within 0.9 m (16 % error) of the equivalent value determined from river cross-section survey data, demonstrating that a series of moderate-resolution SAR data can be used to successfully calibrate the depth parameters of a 2-D hydraulic model

On some references of the Buddhapādamaṅgala to the Suttapiṭaka and the Abhidhammapiṭaka

This article compares the Buddhapādamaṅgala, a Pāli work written in the Ayutthaya kingdom probably in the sixteenth century, with the canonical sources (mainly from the Suttapiṭaka and the Abhidhammapiṭaka) that inspired the symbology adopted by the text. The analysis indicates that this symbology, which permeates Buddhist tradition in Thailand, was developed through several stages under the influence of Pāli commentarial literature and of paracanonical texts such as the Milindapañha

Effect of chronic supplementation with methylsulfonylmethane on oxidative stress following acute exercise in untrained healthy men

Objective  This study was conducted to assess the effects of chronic daily methylsulfonylmethane (MSM) supplementation on known markers of oxidative stress following acute bouts of exercise in untrained healthy young men. Methods  Eighteen untrained men volunteered for this study. Participants were randomized in a double-blind placebo-controlled fashion into two groups: MSM (n = 9) and placebo (n = 9). The participants took supplementation or placebo daily for 10 days before running. Participants ran 14 km. The MSM supplementation was prepared in water at 50 mg/kg body weight. The placebo group received water. Serum malondialdehyde (MDA), protein carbonyl (PC) and plasma oxidized glutathione (GSSG) were measured as markers of oxidative stress. The plasma-reduced glutathione (GSH) level and the GSH/GSSG ratio were determined as markers of plasma antioxidant capacity. Key Findings  Acute exercise led to elevated levels of serum MDA, PC and plasma GSSG. MSM supplementation maintained PC, MDA and GSSG at lower levels after exercise than the placebo. The plasma level of GSH and the ratio of GSH/GSSG were significantly higher in the MSM supplemented group. Conclusions  These results suggest that chronic daily oral supplementation of MSM has alleviating effects on known markers of oxidative stress following acute bouts of exercise in healthy young men

Affliction without affliction: a translation of the Nakulapitāsutta and its commentaries

This article consists of a study of two commentaries to the Nakulapitāsutta, a Buddhist text from the Pali Khandhasaṃyutta. This sutta addresses the key concept of liberation from the perspective of illness, decay and death, and offers an incisive description of the five aggregates of personality. The two commentaries present variegate exegetical approaches to the root-text, mostly based upon a sophisticated system of cross-references wisely intertwined with a bulk of original elucidations. This combination illustrates some prominent aspects of Pali Buddhist philosophy and provides a precious series of lexicographical interpretations that surely deserve further studies

Measurement of S-glutathionylated proteins by HPLC

S-glutathionylated proteins (GSSP), i.e., protein-mixed disulfides with glutathione (GSH), are considered a suitable biomarker of oxidative stress. In fact, they occur within cells at low level and their concentration increases markedly under pro-oxidant conditions. Plasma is something different, since it is physiologically rich in S-thiolated proteins (RSSP), i.e., protein-mixed disulfides with various types of low molecular mass thiols (LMM-SH). However, albumin, which is largely the most abundant plasma protein, possesses a cysteine residue at position 34 that is mostly reduced (about 60%) under physiological conditions, but easily involved in the formation of additional RSSP in the presence of oxidants. The quantification of GSSP requires special attention to sample handling, since their level can be overestimated as a result of artefactual oxidation of GSH. We have developed the present protocol to avoid this methodological problem. Samples should be treated as soon as possible after their collection with the alkylating agent N-ethylmaleimide that masks -SH groups and prevents their oxidation. The GSH released from mixed disulfides by reduction with dithiothreitol is then labeled with the fluorescent probe monobromobimane and quantified by HPLC. The method can be applied to many different biological samples, comprising blood components, red blood cell plasma membrane, cultured cells, and solid organs from animal models